Israel's organization of technical/marcom writers and copy editors
There was a spate of commentary explaining that terrorism is a nuisance but not an existential threat to Israel. Before that, I’d heard only about existentialism. So an existential threat to Israel sounded like a streetful of French intellectuals campaigning to cut off our supply of brie.
Read MoreIn English, the word phenomenon is claimed both by scientists who consider that, as in Greek, it means anything that has come into view, and by circus ringmasters who like to reserve it for things they would call phenomenal, while the rest of us are caught in between. Nachama Kanner wrote in asking about those cases where phenomenon doesn’t quite work as a translation for תופעה.
Read More“I decided to pamper Yuval”? In English it sounds like a bad decision, and it sounds like adopting a practice rather than performing a single action. Maybe a variation would work — “I decided to pamper Yuval a little.”
Read MoreBusinesses perform קליטה all the time, as they bring in new employees, so some businesses adopt the word absorption and it’s got to rub an English-speaking recruit the wrong way. We don’t so much mind being absorbed into the noble Jewish state, but to think of your identity dissolving around the edges as you become part of, say, Srigamish? — It may be a fine company but the concept is disturbing.
Read MoreIn Hebrew, במסגרת functions rather like an everyday preposition that has nothing to do with a picture frame, a rim, or a visible border of any kind, whereas in English the word framework, being less common, does summon the image of a physical structure and the metaphor becomes irritating with repetition.
Read MoreLike the quality of mercy, the quantity of hello isn’t strained. That is, nobody forced the writer to choose the more formal, more expansive “shalom rav” rather than the everyday “shalom” so presumably there is an intentional difference worth translating.
Read MoreTwenty years ago, calls and letters might have sufficed for פניות, but today the list of media may be longer. The term communications could be useful, but it is a little heavy and vague. A lot could be covered by feedback, but it doesn’t exactly apply, for example, to the fellow who writes in not to comment or inquire about your activities but to offer his services as a feng shui consultant.
Read MoreI think that vis-à-vis often expresses מול better than any alternative would. Unfortunately, vis-à-vis is not an expression that endures repetition well. You can write מול five or six times on a page, but vis-à-vis that many times would look peculiar.
Read MoreI was in the office of a hi-tech CEO some time ago when a phone call came in from a vendor of translation software. The CEO listened only a few seconds before interrupting the vendor: “How does it translate הגורם המבצע?” he asked. I was impressed that he had such a challenge at the ready.
Read MoreAs the champion high-jumper clears the bar, the sportscaster cries out: איזה ביצוע! — which is to say, what a thing-doing. The English language has some theoretically fine translations for ביצוע, but connotations are a problem. You could say what an accomplishment, but that would express the connotation that he did something difficult, not that he did it well or elegantly.
This series of columns will be presenting one hard-to-translate Hebrew word at a time for discussion, and we’ll start with ביצוע (or לבצע).
You’re encouraged to add your comments at the end of the column, but please stick to the word currently under discussion. One word will likely remind you of another, but if you’d like to discuss another word, please write to me at Elephant — whystyle@elephant.org.il — and I’ll present it with due credit in a future column. That way, we can not only conduct a nicely focused discussion but also leave behind a useful archive for future reference, one word at a time.
Read MoreSite for Israel's professional tech writing and marcom community. Originally based in what has become Israel's 2nd largest R&D center (Yokneam), Elephant brings together technical and marcom writers from all over Israel. Behind the scenes and between meetings, members stay in contact with job offers and leads, joint projects, and professional assistance.
Using the wrong technical writer is like using a wrench to open a door, it works, but a door knob is better and cheaper. Elephant was started to help match writers and copy editors with companies where their skills match company needs.
